Cactus Collective: Artist of the Week: Barry Mcgee

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Artist of the Week: Barry Mcgee

Barry Mcgee is both a painter and graffiti artist from San Francisco. In my opinion, I find Mcgee to be a very cool artist because he plays with bold colors and creates bright patterns that are both perfect and imperfect. I know that sounds cheesy but what I am describing is how his hand drawn patterns allow every shape to be their own, meaning that the print will never line up because of the imperfections. Yet from afar, they seem to look almost computer generated with symmetry. His art is very iconic, with central figures dominating abstract backgrounds of drips, cubes, and color fields. Not only does he paint on canvas and walls but his work is displayed on glass bottles, spray cans, and even trains. His cartoon like style I find to be really captivating, and I am a big fan of his work. Enjoy!